The Demon Boyz were an English hip hop group formed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

by Demon D, Mike J and DJ Devastate. They began

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

whilst in their early teens, performing at the

Rebel MC Michael Alec Anthony West (born 27 August 1964 in Islington, London, England), better known as Rebel MC and Congo Natty, is a British jungle producer and toaster. He has also gone by aliases including Conquering Lion, Blackstar, Tribe of Issac ...

’s Beat Freak gigs. Their big break came when they won a competition on

Dave Pearce David Alistair Pearce (born 14 June 1963) is an English dance DJ, EDM producer and broadcaster, who has performed across the United Kingdom and the world. He previously presented ''Dance Anthems'' on BBC Radio 1 for ten years. He is renowned f ...

’s rap show, their prize being to perform live on stage with

Derek B Derek Boland (15 January 1965 – 15 November 2009), better known by his stage name Derek B, was a British rapper. His most commercially successful releases were "Goodgroove" and "Bad Young Brother" in 1988. Biography Born in Hammersmith, Lon ...

, Faze One and

T La Rock Terrence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, (born September 16, 1961) is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." Biogr ...

at a gig at

Camden Palace Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage resi ...

. Derek B – aka Derek Boland, quasi- A&R man for

Music of Life Music of Life is a British independent hip hop and dance music label formed in 1986 by two influential DJ remixers Froggy and Simon Harris, managed by Chris France. Following several successful productions, one of which reached No. 3 in the U ...

records – was so impressed with the group that he put them in touch with the company’s founder,

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael since 2024. A TD for the Wicklow constituency since 2011, he has served as a minister in the government of Ireland since 2016 and f ...

History

The group recorded the song "This is a Jam" for the inaugural release from the label's classic Hard as Hell series, ''Hard as Hell'' (Music of Life, 1987), and the group was quickly signed based on this song's reception. As one of the first groups to rap in their natural accents – in an era when most British

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

were adopting fake American accents to emulate the hip hop music they were listening to – the Demon Boyz helped lay the foundations for the

British hip hop British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. Britis ...

scene. Three singles and the debut album ''Recognition'' (Music of Life, 1989) followed, and the band was heavily featured on

's album ''Hustlers Convention'', considered by many to be rap's first ever live album. The success of the former brought the group to the attention of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

’ subsidiary

Mango Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. The group moved to the label, releasing the single "International Karate" (Mango, 1990) to high acclaim. However,

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

closed their subsidiary soon afterwards and the group found themselves without a record deal. Going back to their roots, they joined the Tribal Bass label in 1991, and were also joined by a new DJ (DJ Def K). The record company was run by their old friend

. The group released two more singles, "Dett" (featuring two mixes: Feeder Mix produced by DJ Pogo and Jungle Mix produced by Rebel MC) and "Glimity Glamity", a collaboration between Mike J, DJ Def K and Cutmaster Swift. The single remained number one in the hip-hop charts for more than four weeks. Their second album, ''Original Guidance (The Second Chapter)'' (Tribal Bass, 1992) soon followed. The album was well received within the scene, earning an even higher regard than their first release, but shortly afterwards the group split. Mike J reappeared later on, under the name Million Dan, guesting on the single "High Grade" (Knowledge and Wisdom Records, 2001) by Knowledge and Wisdom. He then collaborated with The

Freestylers The Freestylers are a British electronic music group, consisting of producers Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey. They have released five studio albums and a number of mix compilations for, among others, Fabric and BBC Radio. The group took their ...

on the singles "No Replica" (Against the Grain, 2003), "Boom Blast" and "Dogz and Sledgez", all of which appear on the album ''

Raw as F**k ''Raw as Fuck'' is an album by the British electronic music group Freestylers. Released in July 2004, it was the group's third album. It is also the first full-length album release from the Against the Grain label. The remix album was released ...

''. He continued to record; an album entitled ''Spektrum'' was released in May 2008 on his own label Million Dappa Records. Demon Boyz and Million Dan both have songs featuring on the Herbalizer's 2006 ''Fabriclive 26'' mix CD, with "Glimmity Glammity" and "Dogz n Sledgez" respectively.

Discography

Demon Boyz * ''Recognition'' (Music of Life, 1989) * ''Original Guidance (The Second Chapter)'' (Tribal Bass, 1992)

Compilation appearances

*''Hustlers Convention'' (1989) Million Dan * ''Spektrum'' (2008)

References

Bibliography

External links

The original UK Hip Hop HistoryMillion Dan (Mike J)’s websiteInterview with Million Dan (Mike J)
{{Authority control English hip hop groups Musical groups from London